Interview with Devon McKay, Author of Cowboy On The Run

I’m delighted to welcome fellow Wild Rose Press author Devon McKay here today for an interview and a look at her debut contemporary western romance, Cowboy on the Run.

Hi, Devon, so glad to have you here today. Tell us a little about Cowboy On The Run:

Cowboy on the Run is a Contemporary Western about first loves, lost love and secrets to big too hide. It’s about life in a small town and family.

Blurb:

Running from a torrential past, Nate Walker had never planned on returning to a town where the only good thing had been a brunette-haired beauty with more compassion than he deserved. Finding himself on a ranch for boys facing the same issues not only taught him how to be a man, it taught him that there was more to life than running away. However, coming back for what he left behind was going to be anything other than easy.

Nate always did know how to make an entrance once again turning Jessie Calhoun’s routine life upside down. Unfortunately, he’d also had the same impact when he left her mending a broken heart in a cloud of dust and taillights. But this time would be different. No longer a gullible, naïve girl, she’d be a fool to fall under his spell again. Especially now that she had more at stake – two very important reasons.

What inspired this story?

Music. A lyric from a song stuck in my head and I thought it could lead to a great book.

What are you working on now? Do you have any releases scheduled for this year?

I recently submitted a story to The Wild Rose Press about an overly ambitious advertising executive making a travel brochure and a territorial Alaskan who offers his aide. Refusing to allow anyone access to exploit his state, his intentions are anything but honorable. Needless to say, sparks fly. I’m hoping my editor enjoys reading the manuscript as much as I liked writing it.

What are your writing goals for this year?

I’d like to release another book or two this year. My goal is too just keep on writing.

How do you come up with ideas?

They just come to me. Usually at 3 am.

Can you share with us “the call” story?

Cowboy on the Run is my first published manuscript. When I was offered a contract, it knocked the air out of me. I was totally stunned. Sometimes, I still can’t believe it. It’s my dream come true.

What do you enjoy most about writing?

When I’m writing, I am transformed into another place. And I love to find out where the journey takes you.

Where do you start when writing? Research, plotting, character, or…?

None of the above. I’d like to say that I’m one of those organized people who have everything in order, but it’s simply not true. Usually an idea or thought triggers my opening line and it all evolves from there.

What is the best thing about being an author?

I love everything about being an author, but I guess the best part is when someone says they were able to connect with your characters. One person who read my book, was angry that she stayed up all night reading it. I love that!

What did you learn from writing your first book or what do you wish you’d known before becoming published?

I learned that editing is where the real work begins.
Do you have a favorite time of day for writing?

I’m an early morning writer. Or in the middle of the night. Sometimes I can’t sleep – especially if I have a scene to finish, or if a good idea keeps me up.

Do you have a favorite hero and/or heroine in your books and why?

Gosh. That’s a tough one because I am so personally involved with all of my characters. In this book, Nate reminds me a lot of my husband, so I have a very special bond with him. And Jessie? She’s simply amazing to me.

What is your favorite scene from this story and why?

My favorite scene would have to be in the first chapter. There is something so romantic about a man taking charge and not accepting no for an answer. Especially when it comes to love.

How do you balance writing and everyday life?

I don’t. Lol. It’s a real struggle. I have a full time job and a family that is very demanding of my time. I try to sneak in an hour or two in the morning and anytime during the day that I can.

What is your favorite memory from childhood?

I can remember taking over the reading of bedtime stories and inputting my own fairy tale endings.

Where is your favorite place in the world?

I lived in Alaska for 27 years. I’ve been lucky to travel since then, but it’s still my favorite place.

What is your favorite food to cook or eat?

I’m a cheeseburger and fries kind of gal.

What do you like to read?

Anything. I’m an avid reader.

Do you listen to music while you write? What are you listening to now?

I love music. All kinds, but, I can’t listen to it while I’m writing, it confuses my thoughts and I start singing.

Who first introduced you to the love of reading?

Well it’s not really who. It was a place. The library. I love the way a building full of books opens up so many new worlds to visit.

I come from a family of readers, but my sister was my greatest influence. She didn’t like to share, so I used to steal books from her bodice ripper collection as a teenager. I couldn’t get enough of those books.

What don’t most people know about you but you would like to share?

I’m quite shy. I don’t like to be the center of attention.

These are few of my favorite things:

1. My loving and supportive friends and family. And, my dog, Daphne. She’s a natural born editor. She likes to sit on my lap as I write. Sometimes, when I read out loud as I struggle through a scene, she noses me and gives me her opinion.

2. Art. I love any kind of art, whether its clay models, paintings or a 3rd graders macaroni picture. It doesn’t matter. I love it all. In my spare time I do stained glass. It’s my “me” time.

3. I enjoy kids and animals. You never know what to expect with either one!

And now Devon has a question for you all:

I love to write. Writing consumes my every waking thought and I find inspiration in just about everything I see. I’m curious to discover what makes others tick. What motivates you? Is it that first cup of coffee in the morning? Or perhaps a tear jerking movie? Or, my favorite, a book that keeps you up all night and you can’t put it down? I’d love to hear your comments.

At this point I’d like to take a moment and thank my wonderful host Babette James. I loved the great questions!

Excerpt:

Nate Walker pushed his bike to extremes, hitting eighty before the surge of adrenaline he’d been striving for flushed through his veins, scratching the surface of the itch, the need to run.

Not this time, he told himself, now nearing close to ninety. The reckless speed made him feel more in control, despite the two reasons driving him back to the small town he never wanted to step foot in again. Both affecting him in a no-win, gut wrenching way.

He toyed with the idea of turning his bike around and heading back the direction he came from – or anywhere else. Although the thought was enticing, it wasn’t a choice anymore. His demons would still chase him, biting at his heels every inch of the way.

No, after all these years, it was time to face them. Besides, he was tired of running even if the outcome did seem rather bleak. Scowling, he pushed the bike further, taking a sharp corner at a life threatening angle, testing his mortality.

A morbid satisfaction burned through him as he felt the pavement skin the side of his leather boot. The feeling lasted only a split second before his dilemma returned full force and his thoughts became more demanding than before.

Of the two reasons, he knew which one would be more challenging, yet was certain neither would be easy – the funeral of a man who conjured up memories of a life better left forgotten, or the woman who haunted his every waking moment and would never forgive him for what he did to her.

Nate revved the throttle before shifting down a gear, determined to take on the more difficult of the choices first.

Time to dance with the devil.

Cowboy on the Run is FREE on Kindle through March 15, 2014, at Amazon.com

Bio:

Devon McKay lives on a farm in Ohio with her very supportive and patient husband, not so patient teenage son, two dogs, three cats, horde of long horned steers, flock of chickens, and a trio of pygmy goats. When she’s not rising with the sun to take care of the daily chores, she’s settling down with a good book or in her writing den typing fast and furiously on her laptop and writing her next novel.

Enjoyed the interview and the excerpt. I’ve downloaded your book and hope to get to it sometime this spring! Yes, I’m one of those over-extended readers, and I look forward to reading your novel. Like you, the beginning line motivates me to seeing where the story will end.

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